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I laughed shaking my head at her corny ass. “That’s a yes?”

She nodded. “That’s a hell yes.”

Excitement rushed through me, and I kissed her hard, rolling her beneath me on the bed. She was giggling, breathless, grinning like she just won something. And she had. We both had. We were finally getting this right.

We didn’t do anything fancy—just took a quick shower and changed into sweats, a quick call to our driver, and within thirty minutes, we were standing inside Blue Moon Wedding Chapel.

The place was exactly what you’d expect from a Vegas chapel—gaudy red velvet carpet, gold-trimmed everything, and an Elvis impersonator behind the counter who looked like he had seen some things.

“Y’all lookin’ to get hitched?” Fake Elvis asked, adjusting his oversized sunglasses.

“Hell yeah we are,” I said, grinning. Serenity laughed, shaking her head, but her eyes were shining.

We signed the papers, paid the fee, and before I knew it, we were standing at the altar under dim lighting with Fake Elvis officiating our wedding. Serenity was smiling the whole time, laughing when he made us recite our vows in his best Elvis accent.

When it was time for the rings, I felt a second of panic—until Serenity grabbed my hand and whispered, “We don’t need them.”

I nodded, understanding what she meant. I didn’t need a ring to prove my commitment to her.

We didn’t need some big ceremony to make it real. This was real. It had always been real.

“You may now kiss the bride,” Fake Elvis said dramatically.

I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed her, tilted her head back, and kissed her like my life depended on it. Like this was exactly where we were meant to be. When we pulled away, Serenity was breathless, grinning, and officially Mrs. Creed Langston.

“Let’s get the fuck outta here,” I murmured against her lips. She laughed, and we did exactly that.

Instead of rings, we went to a 24-hour tattoo shop down the street and got each other’s initials inked on our ring fingers.

Serenity went first, wincing as the artist carefully tattooed a “CL” in delicate script onto her skin.

“You good?” I asked, watching her face.

She smirked at me. “Tougher than you, remember?” I shook my head, grinning, then sat down for my turn. Minutes later, I had a “SB” inked on my own ring finger. She traced it with her fingertip, her eyes soft. “This is perfect.”

I pressed a kiss to her temple. “I promise I’ll get you a real ring.”

She shrugged. “This is real enough for me.” I loved her for that.

The plane ridehome was peaceful. Serenity and I sat next to one another, leaning into one another; hands clasped together in solidarity. We got stares from our friends, but also it felt like relief radiating off of them. We had finally gotten our shit together and that part, we didn’t mind being out in the open.

When we got back to LA, we didn’t tell a soul. Not yet. We wanted to stay in our little bubble, to let it be just ours for now.

My mama was at the house when we got back, watching the kids, and the second we walked in, Cree ran straight into my arms.

“Daddyyyyy!”

I laughed, lifting her up, kissing her round cheeks. “I missed you, baby girl.” I turned to Giovanni, completed our handshake, then bent down and kissed his forehead. “What’s up Gio?”

Serenity was watching us, her smile soft, and I knew what she was thinking. This was our family, our life. And now? It was official; she was Mrs. Creed Langston.

Finally.

43

SERENITY

It had been two weeks since Vegas. Two weeks since I stood in a tiny chapel, laughing at an Elvis impersonator while exchanging vows with the love of my life. Two weeks since I became Mrs. Creed Langston, the tattoo on my finger nearly fully healed. And now, it was finally time to make it official in every sense of the word.